Azure 0: Rebellion Sequence/Arc 1 Episode 2: Crimson Beginnings/Transcript
Previously: Episode 1: Hope of the Blue ---- Arc 1: Grimoire of Destruction Episode 2: Crimson Beginnings Warmth surrounds him, as a radiant blue glistens around him in a phantasmagorical display. “''You shouldn't stay here…please...” He hears a voice whisper to him, and in a tone of desperation. But it's so quiet that he can barely make it out as he lies in the grass looking up at the azure sky above him. The serene wind gusts by in a swirling motion, tossing bits of his spiny hair to the left. As though drawn to the voice, he pushes his head back and tilts his stare up, beginning to speak to the air. “''Is that you…?” The boy speaks almost in a lethargic tone, his eyes half open. “''Nex. You can’t forget, what you’re supposed to do…please you have to leave...!” Forcing his eyes open he pulls his arms out into a stretch before resting his elbows against the soil and his hands feel around his upper torso for the locket, but they grip only air. In his confusion he sits up, putting his palms in the emerald grass as he twists his head around as though looking for something. But his eyes fall on the same girl from his last memory. Again he feels the familiarity wash over him, and he falls right back into a sense of content comfort. Forgetting entirely about the voice speaking to him, he directs his questions to the blonde haired girl. "''Did you say somethin'?" He questions while he rubs his head with his fingers. "No..." The girl replies as she frantically digs her hand through the crystal clear stream, scooping out handfuls of the cold water and pebbles. The fact her sleeveless white blouse gets soaking wet doesn't seem to slow her down. "Oh no, where did it go...?" She says it as she pulls locks of her blonde hair back behind her ear in a nervous manner. All the sloshing and splashing brings a frown of confusion to the teenager while Nex watches, before making his way over to her next to the Sakura Blossom trees. "Hey, why are you so sad? What's wrong?" He asks her. "I was going to show you my crown of flowers I made... but I-I..." She hesitates to finish the thought. Nex glances to the water, while the girl's voice trembles with a sense of shame. "You dropped it?" He answers for her. The instant his words reach her ears, her expression deflates further, holding her wrist she shies away from his stare before she gives a sheepish little reply. "Y-yes..." Upon hearing that Nex sighs without anger or irritation, more so it's just a sigh of expectancy. "Well... doubt it could go far." Is the only thing he can say as he puts his hand on the girl's head with a reassuring look, and her eyes seem to brighten again. After a few moments, he dips his hand into the body of water, then submerges his arm while lying on the pebble-covered ground nearby. Without saying anything he focuses, searching for the crown of flowers. As he grips a piece of the body, his eyes widen a bit, and slowly the teenager pulls it out from the watery depths. He then extends his hand to her, holding the wet crown of flowers in his palm. The sagging form of the plant brings another frown to the girl rather than a look of relief like Nex is hoping for. "Ohhh... its ruined..." "It is a bit messed up huh?" He scratches the back of his neck and admits it with a sigh. "Messed up? I destroyed it..." She shrivels up with shame and almost breaks into tears hiding her face in her hands. "Whoa, no, no you didn't destroy it..." He waves his own hands and tries to reassure her, while gripping her tiny shoulders. "it wasn't your fault really. Don't cry." She sniffles and then suddenly thinks of something while wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "W-wait, can we save it? Do you think so?" Her voice rings of hope, and she smiles again as she grabs Nex's opposite hand and looks at him in excitement. "H-huh? Save a flower crown...?" Confusion across his face, Nex tilts his head back in uncertainty, doubting how that could work. The girl curls her fingers to her own lips and then looks back with curiosity at the blossoms of the trees gently swaying behind the two. “''Or, do you think it would it be easier to just make a new one?” Pausing in thought, Nex breathes in, recalling the girl's words from somewhere. True, it would be easier to just make a new crown, and most people would. However... Nex remembers her as someone who isn't normal in the slightest. She has a gift, something he protected once. Coming back to her question, he comes to a decision with a firm stare and sits her down to one of the boulders. Her eyes are full of an innocent intrigue as she tilts her head up to him. “''No need to." He says it firmly, "We shouldn't give up on it, we should try to save this one, right? Life is important, isn’t that what you told me?” She closes her eyes and gives off a beaming and expressive little grin. “''Yep, I did say it! I'm glad you remembered!" Opening her eyes back up when she finishes, she nods in approval to his idea. "''Alright, if anyone can save it, we can for sure.” "Yeah," He sits down next to her on the large rock and puts their focus on the floral crown. "now remember what they said. If you focus really hard, you can alter things." "And together we'll save the flower crown!" She throws her hand into the air with renewed confidence and joy. Nex gives a wary smile before he pulls her hand down gently placing it back in her lap. "Yeah, but you need to be serious ok? That's right, though, we can save it... so just stay focused, got it?" "Mhm~! I'm ready!" Nodding once to him, the girl then readies herself with a lasting smile. He's already told her they could do it... already made the promise. Now he has to keep his word and go through with it. Swallowing his words, he throws away all regrets. Taking a deep breath to calm his own nerves, he moves her arm close to his as they sit on the rock next to the stream and the blossoms float off the tree from the winds. They cup their hands together over the rippling water and their fingers coil around the now-wilting floral crown cradling it with care. The girl closes her eyes with a smile full of hope while Nex keeps his own focus on the crown and slowly the buds begin to lift back up by a mystical force, the petals following as a faint blue radiance surrounds the girl. "N-Nex, Nex... please! I don't want to see you suffer, don't go any further! You have to get away and go back!" That time was dreadfully clear, the voice in his mind cries out in warning at him. And feeling as though something punches him inside, he notices the flower in the center of the crown suddenly dies and withers away into fine black and crimson particles that float off it. Nex's eyes watch the blackness eating the flower completely like a flame consuming a thin slice of wood. "Wha...?!" With a trembling yet near silent tone, he reels back in surprise, thinking his eyes are playing tricks on him. "Hey, is it working-?" She tugs at his sleeve in concern with her small hands. Quickly Nex shakes his head trying to ignore what he witnesses, and sharply turns himself as he looks around. A pink flower sitting alone in the pebbles draws his eye, and he immediately reaches for it. Holding it by the stem in one hand between his fingers, Nex swiftly tears off the dying flower with his opposite hand in sheer repulse and fear. With a violent motion, he tosses the blackening thing away, and all that's left of it is shriveling remains that vaguely resembles a melting petal. When it's out of sight and sinks within the water, Nex refocuses his efforts, calming himself and seamlessly tying a loose vine around the stem to hold the new flower in place of the dead one previously on it. "Y-yeah... you saved it. Can open your eyes." Nex finally says it to the girl, admittedly still spooked. Her eyes slowly flicker open, and a smile stretches across her face, the girl in bliss when she notices the floral crown glowing with life. All thirteen of the colorful flowers radiate for her to admire. “''We did it! We saved all of them!” She happily expresses while holding the crown up high. Sunlight peers through the gaps in the vines, and she begins running around in the shallow edge of the water and the grass. The liquid splashes against Nex at times, but he doesn't care. He puts his head in his palm while watching her, and the smile on the girl’s face is worth it to him. “''Told you that you can save things!” Giggling with the crown held down to her waist, she tilts her head at him, directing another small and childish grin. Flashing a smile back to her, Nex replies. “''That was you who did it, you know.” Her eyes go back up to him. She's silent for a minute, but the lively smile is still wide while she takes steps toward him and sways her arms a little bit, holding the new crown. When she's close enough, she reaches up past his gaze and places the floral crown on Nex’s hair, giving it little twists to make it snug on his forehead. The teenager's eyes go up at it, blinking in confusion. He feels her hands then hold his wrists fondly. "''But without you... I couldn't save anything. Our power is one in the same, right?" She asks him quietly. "Right." Without hesitation, he confirms it to himself. Pressing against his chest is the girl's hand, it's a gentle touch and she closes her eyes while leaning on him. “''Thank you… for never giving up on anything. Reminding me that I can save things…promise you’ll always-''” As she wraps her arms around him, her words... stop. In this haunting moment, Nex notices something strange protrudes from her body, a crimson substance that doesn't belong and looks like a talon or a blade poking out and radiating a dark presence. The boy’s eyes widen adding to his aghast look, as another pushes through her, and following it terrifyingly is a third. They don’t stop, soon enough the girl’s body is being skewered by so many and a heavy amount of blood flows down both her and his own frame. He can’t even scream, inside horror grips him. She slumps down, the blackness now consuming bits of her body while Nex’s eyes shrink in anger and pain. But before he can do anything, the red objects pierce him next, the two stuck together in it, a pain returns to his body but something more than that is agonizing him. Hunger. Desire. Cold hate locks its icy grip around him. But he feels the girl's stiffening body in his arms once more. "W-why, why do they have to do this... every time... W-''" He doesn't finish. “IT’S THEIR FAULT! NEVER FORGET IT! NEVER FORGIVE IT!” A distorting roar breaks out in the darkness spreading its way through every corner of his memory. Stricken by fear now, Nex's eyes open wide when he notices the shadow gain mass in the central part of the stream flows. A creature pulls itself out of the Seithr, a serpentine beast's head peers out from the abyss the lake had sunk into, its teeth locking themselves into a sneer of unfathomable unholy rage. The water became a vortex of swirling black liquid and grotesque blazes around this massive Fiend. Nex stares at it, unable to take his eyes from it, he notices a pain in his arm, but it spreads further, it isn't just his arm his entire body feels strange. From the tips of his fingers, a pitch substance begins to crawl upward consuming more of him as if it's morphing his body in that aura. "''THE HELL IS HAPPENING-!" He screams it in shock, trying to pull himself away but he can't bring his feet to even budge an inch. Meanwhile, that creature gains several crimson eyes above a wide jaw showing off many sharp crimson fangs. The thing is towering over him, it's more like a nightmarish monster than anything that can possibly be real. The distorting growl utters itself out of the shadows yet again and the very air around him seems to tremble with its presence. "Do not fear it. Find it... find it. Become it. Sink to the unreachable abyss... and become strong enough to change. To change everything... to destroy it all. Recall your existence, Azure 0!" "Stop-! What the hell are you talking about!" He cries out in confusion, trying to raise his voice over the rumbling growls of the creature. While all of those eyes on the beast seem to stare a hole into him a crimson sigil appears on the floor, giving off a short glow and a few rings appear around it lifting off the floor. A tendril pounces out from it rising into the air several feet, but in its path is the pair. The wriggling mass tears through the girl in front of him mangling her entire body from the inside out into a bloody mess as it protrudes from her remains and consumes everything just as quick. "NO! You bastard!" Nex's fury returns momentarily, but he cringes away when the surfacing beast gives a roar that shatters the atmosphere. "See for yourself. Your powerlessness at their hand, the sum of all timelines, possibilities, the power of this World...!" His memory twists and pulsates like an illusion being shattered to reveal the scenery of a dead landscape. It reminds him of the former city he’d been to. Only, black... things wriggle and convulse around in the streets held together by strange looking crystals in their body radiating a red darkness. Their incomprehensible forms all inch closer to him, a trait in their hideous existence they share is fangs and talons of all kinds extending from their pitch heads or ends of the limbs. Their teeth gnashing together in a snigger while voices pierce the air with their torment and struggle. Nex's head pounds as he drops to his knees in the black liquid. Those things... he could sense their destructive desires and yet Nex can't explain the emanating forces of pain and dread. “''N-no...stop...stay away!” It's all he can say. A light glints down against the darkness where the shadows dance. He lifts his head up, something that is almost a phantasm sits in the sky, and he can't make the gigantic living structure out but devouring it is the obsidian hazes, small things float around it with an equally impressive and otherworldly appearance. And yet for its awe-striking presence, Nex finds himself not admiring it but instead sneering angrily looking at it from the floor while it sits in runes of azure and crimson that flow around it while it stays above the dying city. "''You're no GODS! This creation... is nothing but hell! This is all your fault! ALL OF IT!" Bright crimson consumes the boy's eyes for a split second as he yells in hate toward the barely seen object. Yet he doesn't know where those words come from, just something deep inside his mind forces the venomous statement while his eyes darken with rage. Sneering while his hand goes up to his head and he tears the floral crown off, throwing it away as it drifts to the ruin of the streets. All thirteen of those flowers suddenly ignite with the black energy and burn away. Every inch of their petals withering. Destroy them... devour it... find the power to do it or be chained in fate forever! The next instant, the serpent's head which rears up to show off a fiery maw of destruction, comes from behind Nex before it rushes straight down through him and the darkness of the creature swallows him whole. Finally, the beast's teeth close down on his surroundings and he prays it to be over. He hears a final voice crying to him. “''No...please Nex, you can’t forget what the truth is! Don't go... don't do this... why can't you hear me anymore!” ---- A blue light shatters apart, and suddenly he feels a sense of unease come over him while his eyes shoot open, his chest heaving upward and in with heavy hesitating breaths. "''A-again... dammit!" He yells angrily and in pain as he writhes with futile movements, arms flailing like a child having a tantrum "Dammit all to hell-- GHHAAH!" but his aching body complains to him with sharp sensations of agony. The teenager makes a pathetic moan and flops back against the strangely comfortable surface, his teeth still grinding together in a scowl of disbelief. "Another nightmare huh." Doubting his own words, he swallows and still feels himself sweating from the frightening experience. "I don't remember that black creature at all. Why did it all seem so familiar? Dammit, nothing of it makes any sense." While the rage seeps away from his shaking voice, Nex can only close his eyes slightly with a sense of utter helplessness. Already he feels like he's being tugged along on an unbreaking chain. “''I don’t… I don’t know where you want me to go… I don’t know how to awaken the Azure… why do I have to be here…''” He throws his head against what seems to be a pillow, with a somber look in his green eyes. “''I just want to go back…''” Finishing with a crooked glowering look, Nex turns himself on his side. Moving his hand over his chest, he finds the locket and grips it tightly, letting the plumes of light wash over him. Breathing returning to normal over time, his hand grabs his arm, smacking it all over the place with worry. His eyes darting over every inch of the skin looking to see if that blackness was spreading through it. His fingers are normal, not a sign of that strange darkness squirming its way through his skin. No crimson energy flowing through him either, which allows him to release a short sigh. “''It seems normal... “ He says it quietly to himself as he rubs his forearm with his left hand, Nex still wary, and trembling a bit with a chill up his spine. It’s not as though he can explain the feeling, but it’s one of dread, and one he can’t easily shake. Taking another quick breath of anxiety, the boy steels himself before moving his eyes up to see a wide and tall metal and marble-like ceiling. He seems to be on the cover over a mattress. “''Yeah, that’s right… that woman took me.” He says it in affirmation to his hazy memory before he swiftly scowls in wonder. “''What’s with all these weirdos trying to tell me what to do? Her and that guy Corvus knew about the Azure too…''” Something squeezes his abdomen and ends his thoughts. He notices the majority of his lower torso in bandages with runes of softly glowing magic. He places his hand where the injuries were, the bleeding slowing to a mere drip that stains the surface. Squinting in surprise, he turns his head. Regal looking crests lay on the wall against banners in the room, and most of the furniture looks expensive with a patterned flooring and smaller statues sitting on it, some of the pieces holding blue crystal-like objects. Trying to move his body only makes him scrunch his brow into a wince of agony, but after a struggling movement, he manages to sit himself up to a slight slouching position. Remaining silent, the young silver-hair slowly slides off the bed's edge and when the bottoms of his shoes clack against the bright floor he limps to the large window overlooking a vast busy-looking cityscape with the azure skies above them. They’re so high up that the haze of strewn clouds could be seen just out these windows. The buildings are all stretching high like towers, their tips piercing the still air with countless more buildings bellow them in the confines of the earth. Breaking the silence is a creaking rumble from behind him. Twisting his head over his shoulder Nex notices a large door a dozen feet high responsible for the noise. A naked light begins to peak through, pulling its two sections apart as the glyphs rotate on the doors face. There's another momentary creek and following it enters the woman with the long blue hair from earlier. Her arms are in front of her, hands gripping a tray of some sort. With a non-threatening look, she rests her eyes on the teenager, making her way over with light steps along the flooring. Atop the tray is an assortment of food along with a ceramic cup decorated in markings. “''I was just about to wake you. How do you feel?” With a gentle expression, Irene's soft voice questions him, and yet still it's also a haunting tone. At first, the boy says nothing and looks back out the window. "''I was worried you weren't going to wake up. You were having a nightmare." “''Yeah and I feel like hell to answer your earlier question. You did kind of just kidnap me.” He snaps back at her with a full scowl. “''Not kidnap. Bring you to safety.” She corrects him with a look of those somber eyes while remaining in the center of the room. "What...?" Shaking his head at her words, he gives a wary glare. "Where the hell am I, anyway?" "You are in the presence of the Novus Orbis Sequentia. The order of the World's Power." His eyes widen upon registering the words and he finally turns to her as she continues. "And I am Irene Theia, one of those who represent and protect its will." Nex is finally able to see the features of the women. She has a delicate expression with a haunting color to her bluish purple eyes that seem to have a look of sadness. A cloak with two splits to the ends rests over her left shoulder and her blue hair reaches bellow her ribs, with the front ends sitting just above her shoulders. At the top of her forehead is a metal headdress with a blue shine. She walks toward Nex, the woman's steps are so light the clacking of the flat heels against the ceramic floor is barely audible. The blue dress attaching by the hip doesn't sway much with her steps, it's left open showing her uniform and black leggings that cover her legs with two small blue crystals on the kneecaps. “''Huh? But, what does that even mean…?” Nex asks with a frown of confusion while he looks at the woman. “''It means we are its protectors." She gestures with a hand encased within a white glove. "The NOS has had them for some time, but there are very few left now who are entrusted to a position like it. And it was our order to bring you here.” “''Your order huh… and why the hell did you send those damn things after me?" He adds with a gruff growl. “''Seems a bit odd for someone to do that if you really were just trying to protect me. It was you who sent ‘em, right?” “''They do listen to me," Irene admits quickly with a quiet sigh. "''but you were in a dangerous area…and they were programmed to bring you here.” "Programmed... so the System Puppets come from this place huh? Then, is it possible-? Is she here too?" Nex turns his eyes away from her, a thoughtful expression on the teenager's face but he keeps the thought to himself while the woman continues. "Here you don’t have to worry about the horrors of the Boundary and Seithr that will corrupt your soul.” She says it as she sits on the bed, and places the tray on one of the stands nearby them. The billowing steam from the cup draws the curiosity of the teenager as he watches it drift around. But the smells make him wrinkle his nose in displeasure, the entrancing scents of herbal essences never did much for him. “''Corrupt…? Well, Those things did talk about corruption...” "''It isn't a corruption most know of." Following her knowing sigh, Irene turns herself to look to the horizon. The teenager makes a small noise in his confusion as he takes his attention from the cup on the stand, and follows Irene's movements with his eyes lifting his head only slightly. "They are safe from it here." Her eyes close halfway, "There isn't a need for a child to know of a nightmare before they have it. That would only disturb their dreams and their peace." Wrinkling his expression to the comment, Irene then turns Nex's attention to the window and has him gaze on the cityscape. When his stare is out toward the city, she allows the breeze of crisp air to flow in when her hand presses onto the glass and cracks the seal. Her face lightens with a sense of warmth as the air brushes the strands of her blue hair. “''Isn’t the sense of peace relieving? It’s what you remember in your memory right?" He turns his gaze down to the side while thinking about his memories with the girl. "''Yeah..." "These people are the same, they are free of pain or fear. The entire world is kept peaceful this way when their thoughts of these horrors don't consume them.” Those words catch Nex's attention, and he gives a questioning glare. "But if they don't know... isn't it the same as lying to 'em?" "Yes... you could say that. But some horrors are too great to be shared with the world. Some powers are too dangerous to be relinquished to man. Sometimes the future and the past are better left unknown, there is a reason the powers above us makes certain that most don't know their fate beforehand." He doesn't seem to understand and instead decides to stay quiet while Irene continues softly. “''The world once knew harmony, it could become an eternal paradise, this city is just one possibility for that. One day… I want to see it spread into the world. At least, it’s what I believe.” Turning his head to her he speaks, “''Peace?” he spends a few moments in disbelief before replying. "Isn't that a bit... ''" "''Naive isn't it...?" Finishing his thought for him, she gives a sad smile to her own words. "but it is what was left in me. My desire, at the core of my soul." Irene's hand rests against her collarbone when she finishes her words, and the blue hair departs from the window. "Right..." He rolls his eyes at the comment. Clearly, he doesn't believe that but a curious Nex tilts his head at another realization. “''Now that you mention it, it does feel a lot more calm here than that place I was at earlier…Corvus called it the last place of resistance?” He seems uncertain of the last words. "''That was a fallen city." Turning her gaze away momentarily, her finger rests on her cheekbone. "We were forced to destroy it. It is the place where all hope would be stolen and fail to be rekindled, you are all that's left after those operations..." She seems to lose her composure, her eyes close themselves and her calm voice turns into a whisper of pain with a crestfallen frown to follow it. He shakes his head, making sure he's heard those words right. When he gazes on Irene's look of disappointment, his eyes slide to the corner and he pulls his fingers through the strands of his silver hair. "...That seems pretty serious all of a sudden, don't you think?" “''Sorry, I shouldn't have said it. It isn't something for you to worry over." Regretting her comment, Irene can't deny a final bit to say that clouds her eyes. "''However... a force continuously denies the world we try to build, and then encourages the powers that will attempt to destroy it.” The woman releases a sigh, lowering her hand and curling her head down. “''The world falls deeper to the point of no recovery each day. And that is the unfortunate truth." “''What happened to the world then huh…?” He folds his arms loosely and tilts his head to the side while kicking the bed. The teenager's arms fall back to his side and then rest on the bed as he looks up at her when she comes in front of his view. "Nex, you should rest. For now, focus on your recovery, we'll talk later." Speaking to him with a soothing tone, her hand reaches in a comforting gesture. In an instant, the boy's jade eyes widen in a display of anxiety, and Nex briskly whips his neck to avoid the touch. Stiffening with a tense tremble, his eyes close themselves tight. "D-don't... I don't trust people." He says quietly while hiding his eyes, a cold scowl spreads on his face of unconfidence. Irene takes her hand away from Nex in slight shock, she begins to try to talk to him, but soon decides against it. The woman's eyes focus on the small metal tablet of the collar around the teenager's throat. "You'll be safe here, I promise. There's nothing to be frightened of." Her attempts to reassure a nervous Nex seemingly do nothing as he refuses to respond. After several moments of silence, she finally drops a comment that would force his attention. The solemn shine in her eyes returns as she speaks. "We want to help you awaken the Azure." Taken aback by the statement, Nex's head lifts and his eyes widen. "How do you know-''" "''Think about it, the good you could do with it, and the future you could make." Following the cryptic statement, Irene turns away from Nex calmly and then begins to walk back towards the door. "Huh?" Nex sighs, preceding a frown in his utter bafflement. "Hold on... there's a lot more I wanna know, how do you know about the Azure?" The regal door's sections begin to move gently following Irene’s departure, all of the runes fall back into place on its face and with a faint blue glow the door seals itself once more. Nex’s eyes don’t leave the woman until the door shuts completely, and finally, there's a loud clunk leaving Nex alone in the room once more. "Tch..." He clicks his tongue and then throws himself back against the mattress putting his hands behind his head with a huff. While he stares at the ceiling with a crest of the NOS on it, he contemplates. "If I did awaken the Azure, I could get her back." He pulls the locket out with his hand and looks at its reflective surface, letting the memories wash away any doubt, and Nex's eyes squint in resolve. "I'll keep that promise... at any cost." ---- “''So then it was true. What I saw in the records was no false recording of that Sequence.” Corvus speaks in a heavy tone while looking up to the vampire who sits quietly on the flat surface of the broken spire. “''No. It is very real." The woman in the black and gold dress remarks while releasing a long held-in sigh. "The world is favoring, and moving toward certain outcomes." Boredom glints in her radiant yellow eyes. "But how could it have led to one like that...?" "That is not something I can share with you." Taking a tone of sincerity, her eyes center themselves on Corvus with a sense of grim concern. "But I ask for your assistance, you're one of the only remaining individuals who know of the system." "Bringing Nex into things wasn't enough...?" He questions her while slowly standing back straight. Shutting her eyes, the vampire takes her gaze away from Corvus with a sense of subtle disdain, her fingers tapping the sleeves against her arm. "Nex did not choose to come here," A hint of irritation is in her voice. "and you now understand he is not enough on his own. Those possibilities are simply wasting away. All because of this "Order"." Taking in her reasonings, Corvus maintains composure in his silence. Looking at the remains of the building that fell due to the Government's eventual actions. The death still lingers in the very air around the two. Is it sorrow that he feels in his mind, or is it regret? Legna wears the same expression as Corvus, her eyes staring down the deteriorating horizon before them. Finally, he answers her. "I may as well attempt it." The words bring the vampires eyes back to him, her lips separate to create a small gap in a moment of her surprise. "After all, my time is nearly up now that they know of my actions." "Time..." Flashing a small reassuring smile, she replies, "Don't worry about time. I will handle everything if you fall into trouble, as I do so despise the world's powers that hinder mine." A quiet chuckle comes from her. "If you fail don't expect any reward." "Very well...I will help Nex. The feeling, this regret...sin?" Corvus inquires as he seems unsure of what it is that grips him. "You wished to know if what you learned in those operations had any merit behind it, now you do. That feeling, it is none other than that disgusting sense of regret." She squints a bit before continuing. "Regret can't be left in this world, it festers like a disease and gives rise to despair and hatred. Feelings individuals prefer to deny." "It is something I don't wish to live with. And still, it pounds itself into my memory. You have my support for the time being." "Fair enough, at least you have half a mind of your own to tell what's going on in this wretched mockery of a world." With that teasing comment, her smile returns, which makes Corvus sigh but he doesn't dispute the words of the vampire. "To think this would be fate... and it is all our own fault." In a heavy tone of self-disappointment, the man speaks, and as he touches the headpiece it skims and separates slowly to reveal his indigo eyes full of regret. "Humans are known for their mistakes and their faults. Don't forget that." She remarks to him with a stern look as she stands back up with a gentle gust of golden winds. "Yes, that is true...emotions and thoughts are responsible for it." He turns away and begins to walk out of the forlorn cityscape, passing the spire that the vampire stands on among many other wreckages around the two. He points his gaze to her one last time. "You should go. Before they find you." The warning Corvus gives doesn't bring even a whisper of concern to Legna's calm expression, she directs her eyes away from him and releases a delicate giggle. "Hmhm, I'm more than capable of evading them. Mankind is after all, foolish to think they can defeat a user of true magic with their toys. They still have much to learn... but it is amusing to see someone like you concerned." "Concern...?" He asks himself, but the instant he turns back around to look at the distant pillar reaching above the walls of the former building, Legna is nowhere to be seen, only the winds greet him while the radiant orb of light sits high in the sky. "Mankind will never master the power of true magic from beings like you. The attempts, that's exactly what's gotten us into this position..." ---- As Nex attempts to rest, the fears of another nightmare force his wary eyes wide open. The city is still bustling, but at their height, he can see the stars strewn through a blanketing night sky. The soothing sight brings a smile of longing to his expression. "Is it what I want? Just peace? Does it really matter how I get it... to just go back to the way my life was..." He says it to no one in particular, it wasn't like he was expecting any answer, his hand falls from his temple and he continues to rest on the bed lying on his back. Trying to clear his head, he kicks the bed roughly with his heels half in boredom and gives a hard, dry swallow that makes him frown. Flopping over to his belly, he reaches for the handle of the ceramic cup on the stand and manages to pull it over. Dipping his head to the cup, he debates something. Despite the overwhelming fragrances never smelling good to him, the teenager never gave the tea a chance. “''Don’t care, I’m thirsty as hell…''” He shakes his head, not affording himself the chance to make an argument against the idea while bringing the cup up toward his mouth. With a quick motion, he tilts it and pours the beverage into his throat. But the instant the warm liquid washes down, a less than pleasant sensation greets him. He makes a disgruntled growl after spitting the contents all over the room with a broken up spew. “''What the hell was that-!” Complaining loudly and in clear exaggeration, the teenager violently tosses the cup through the room and it shatters to pieces on collision with the wall. “''It’s warm and bitter, and ugh…” Shuddering in his displeasure, he pulls his hand down his face with a moan, still pursing his lips from the experience. Now that the adrenaline from the previous events wore off, the teenager finds himself uttering a near-silent whimper, rubbing his sore and parched throat. He feels as though he hasn’t eaten or drank in ages, and the tea didn't do it for him. Although the boy is being nothing more than picky. Unable to stand it now, he soon begins to meander around the chamber, bringing him to an arching doorway taller than him, and it wasn’t as elaborate as the main entrance; only a plain ivory surface with some decorative etchings. Nex presses his palms against it and forces it open a bit. Poking his head in he looks around, it appears to be a storage unit for the room, pitch black until Nex steps in and sudden light showers down from the glyphs floating above. Lowering his hand and taking a few steps further in he notices a bunch of containers upright on the shelves and inside of smaller tanks. Frisking through the containers with his hand, he begins to look for something to alleviate the thirst and hunger beating down his mind. "There's gotta be somethin' here..." He complains to himself. Finally, as his hand skims along the surface of one, he reaches up for the container with a bit of a grumble and begins to pull it out with both hands. It slips out from his hold however and drops down to the ceramic flooring with a loud crash. The body of it shattering, and the glass spraying across the ground. “''Ah dammit-''” Taking quickening steps back from it all, Nex frowns at the broken shards all over the floor. Though one of the shards glisten strangely unlike the glass. On top of that, something odd begins to leak out from the container, a dark as night haze floats higher and flows around the room. Confusion plagues the teenager’s jade eyes, but what grips him next is a short-lived and agonizing pain spreading throughout his chest. Clasping the area of discomfort tightly with his hand, the teenager hunches over and breathes in broken but quick succession, watching a crimson energy shoot through his hand in an instant. “''Not again… it wasn’t just in that nightmare…?” Afraid of it morphing into something, he keeps his eyes on his hand, just waiting for that darkness to explode. Nothing happens, but he remains paranoid until something else catches his eye. The crystal on the floor in the pile of surrounding glass… it has an oddly reflective body and strange texture like a crystal. Nex feels something alluring radiating from it and it compels him to pick it up from the floor. The first time he flinches when it makes a spark, but the second time he swiftly takes it. Becoming mystified by it, Nex exits the storage unit and shuts the door behind him again and makes his way back to the bed, with the crystalline object still in hand. With a frown of wonder, he rotates it in his fingers, watching it glisten in many dark shades. A thought sets in his mind after. “''Well… I didn’t find anything to eat or drink. Although, this thing kinda is giving me a rush. Maybe… you can eat these?” Unsure of whether or not it's possible, the idea seems inviting to him, and it doesn't appear dangerous, in fact, it seems tempting like candy. His hunger decides it for him, he brings the crystal closer to his teeth and opens his mouth. Though a moan comes from the door with its mechanisms turning and grinding to a start, it startles Nex and he clicks his teeth back together letting his hand swiftly fall to his side while he pockets the shard. Light seeps through the cracks once more. As the last of the glyphs pull off, Nex quietly waits for the person to come through. “''You must be Nex, Azure 0.” The voice oddly doesn’t belong to Irene, who Nex thought would be behind it. Instead, it’s a male’s voice, a bit older than his age, but not by much, and he's skinnier and more skeletal in his build. He wears a decorative uniform, having many designs clearly he's part of this system, that much Nex could discern. Those jade eyes focus on him, much like his own only far brighter, as bright as the streak of emerald in his short hair which seems out of place. Though Nex doesn’t have time to question it, the teenager speaks with intent as he comes forward. “''So that’s what he was referring to, traveling with them all the way here only to find someone like you.” He finishes with a bit of a smile and puts his hand out as a faint viridescence ripples. “''What? Who are you?” His eyes narrow in confusion, Nex’s tone one of disturbance as he feels tense. “''Why are you calling me Azure 0?” “''That doesn’t matter, you’re Azure 0, right?” He asks again, a bit sharper this time. “''I…” The hesitation in his voice swiftly flares into anger. “''I don’t know who Azure 0 even is!” He exclaims, throwing his hands up to the air in clear annoyance. “''He told me that’s who you were, and I can sense it...there’s no doubt it’s you I heard about from the whispers from the edge of that darkness and this blade.” The energy suddenly morphs into an emerald blade, taller, and longer than the young male as it builds itself from the Seithr. His jade eyes suddenly flash with crimson as he declares the next words while a serpentine darkness coils through the thin weapon and gives a faint smile. “''The destructive power of the Azure. You're in the world after all.''” ---- End of Crimson Beginnings To be continued in The Volatile Possibility ---- Category:Rebellion Sequence Transcript Category:Control Sequence Category:EvoBlaze Category:Transcript